Police to release results of major investigation into fake Norval Morrisseau art on Friday in Orillia, Ont.

The results of a major investigation into forged Norval Morrisseau artwork that was launched in Thunder Bay, Ont., in 2019 will be revealed on Friday, police say.

A media release says the findings from the "significant art fraud" investigation will be announced at Ontario Provincial Police general headquarters in Orillia starting at 10 a.m. ET, and will include Thunder Bay police's Acting Chief Dan Taddeo and Det. Sgt. Jason Rybak.

The Thunder Bay Police Service (TBPS) launched the investigation, and brought in the OPP once "the magnitude of the investigation became apparent," according to a Thunder Bay police spokesperson. 

No other details about Friday's announcement have been provided.

Forgery allegations go back decades

Morrisseau, who died in 2007, was a renowned artist from the Ojibway Bingwi Neyaashi Anishinaabek First Nation in northwestern Ontario. He's known as the founder of the Woodlands School of art, and his work has been exhibited in galleries across Canada, including at Rideau Hall in Ottawa.

Allegations of forgery of Morrisseau's works stretch back decades. The official Morrisseau website includes an authentication service, and Thunder Bay police told CBC News in 2019 that officers had investigated alleged forgeries as early as 2000, though no charges were laid.

Police also confirmed to CBC News in 2020 that another investigation was ongoing.

Forgery of Morrisseau's works was the focus of the 2019 documentary There Are No Fakes, which included the story of Barenaked Ladies keyboardist and guitarist Kevin Hearn, who had purchased a painting titled Spirit Energy of Mother Earth from a Toronto gallery in 2005.

The painting was displayed at the Art Gallery of Ontario a few years later. The gallery received complaints about the painting, and eventually took it down, stating its authenticity couldn't be confirmed.

Hearn would sue the gallery where he purchased the painting. The case was first dismissed by a judge, who said he couldn't say conclusively if the painting was authentic or not.

Hearn then took the case to the Ontario Court of Appeal, which ruled in his favour. The court ordered the gallery to pay Hearn $50,000 for breach of contract and breach of the Sale of Goods Act, and $10,000 in punitive damages.

There Are No Fakes is available to stream on CBC Gem.

Friday's news conference will be posted on the OPP's Twitter, YouTube and Facebook channels shortly after it concludes.